Ikeja Senior High School, Lagos, has emerged winner of the second edition of the World No Tobacco Day Inter-School Debate Championship 2026, clinching the N200,000 top prize in a keenly contested competition that brought together schools across Nigeria.
The grand finale of the championship, themed “Unmasking the Appeal: Countering Nicotine and Tobacco Addiction,” was held on Thursday at Supreme Education Foundation Schools, Magodo GRA, Ikeja, Lagos.
A total of 21 schools from Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Enugu and Adamawa States featured through the preliminary stages, where each team was required to submit five-minute video entries showcasing their understanding of tobacco and nicotine addiction, as well as their motivation for participating.
At the grand finale on Thursday, Ikeja Senior High School, represented by David Paul and Gbadamosi Mariam, emerged champions.
The school went home with N200,000, while Peaceville International Academy, represented by Adebola Asana and Flourish Emmanuel, placed second and received N150,000. Oke Afa Senior Comprehensive College came third, winning N100,000.
Halima Lawan of StudyNow and Prof Oluremi Olutimo, who is President of United Nations Association of Nigeria, presented the awards, noting that the competition succeeded in giving young people a stronger voice in public health advocacy.
According to them, “The WNTD Inter-School Debate Championship is more than a competition; it is a platform for building the next generation of advocates, policymakers and public health champions.”
They added that the initiative is designed to ensure that students are not only exposed to public health issues but are also actively engaged in shaping responses to them.
Cash prizes and certificates were sponsored by StudyNow, a UK-based international study-abroad organisation, which supported all stages of the competition.
Experts including Chente Okoli and Jacinta Powell spoke on how the tobacco and nicotine industry exploits emotional vulnerability in young people and the path to emotional freedom and the psychology of nicotine addiction.
They explained that the debate was designed to expose students to real-world policy conversations and the public health implications of tobacco use.
Chief Judge, Dr Monica Nwosu, Executive Director of Hearts Aglow Foundation, and Deputy Chief Judge, Dr Regina Inem of Regamos Foundation, gave insights into the evaluation of the submissions.
The organisers, Insightful Edutech Nigeria Limited in partnership with UNA-Nigeria, said the competition has continued to grow in reach and impact, attracting participation from across Nigeria and other African countries.
They expressed optimism that future editions would expand further, strengthening youth engagement in tobacco control advocacy and public health education across the continent.
